Ruby Red (Precious Stone Trilogy #1)
Sapphire Blue (Precious Stone Trilogy #2)Emerald Green (Precious Stone Trilogy #3)
Author: Kerstin Gier
Publisher: Henry Holt Publishers, 322 Pages
Ruby Red Publication Date: May 10, 2011 (English Translation)
Sapphire Blue Publication Date: October 31, 2012 (English Translation)
Emerald Green Publication Date: October 8, 2013 (English Translation)
Narrator: Marisa Calin
Audiobook Publisher: MacMillan Audio
Ruby Red Listening Length: 8 hours and 50 minutes
Sapphire Blue Listening Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes
Emerald Green Listening Length: 12 hours and 42 minutes
This trilogy from German author Kerstin Gier (published 2009 in German), was so fun and unique that it has been translated into more languages than I can count. This simple fact intrigued me almost as much as the titles and cover art which I fell in love with partially because of how different they look based on which translation you happen to buy. While I'm not usually swayed by covers, the combination of blogger reviews and variety of cover art caught my attention.
My co-blogger Pam previously reviewed Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue so I will leave those reviews to Pam and will focus on the third and final book and the quality of the audiobooks. The first thing readers should know is that I think books one and two should have been combined into one book, but book three was a fabulous conclusion. It was rich in details, humor, intrigue, and time travel.
In the final book, Gwen and Gideon work to solve the mystery of Count Saint-German and resolve their misunderstandings in the most appealing way possible with Gideon admitting he was ALL wrong. I love pretty much everything about Gwen's relationship with her family, time traveling grandfather, and Gideon. I'm not sure I would call Gwen a feminist because she clearly spends too much time crying and moping around when she thinks she has been betrayed but once she gets past her misery she develops into a determined and strong 16 year old girl. I do think its important to note that this is a story about a 16 year old girl and a book that I would let a preteen read because it's such a sweet story.
Gwen's best friend Leslie provides a great example of female friendship where you support and challenge your friends to be the best version of themselves. Her ghostly friends provide humor and insight into things Gwen and Gideon can't figure out for themselves. I have to admit the turn of events at the end of this series didn't surprise me too much but it was a bit of a nail biter up to the end. This might have been because I've been listening to the book and admit some of the finer details of the time travel were often hard to follow since I couldn't go back and verify what previously happened. This was a wonderful AUDIOBOOK. The narrator, Marisa Calin, has moved into my top five voices to listen to.
I would highly recommend this audiobook series both because of the quality of the story and the amazing voice!
Posted By: Sheri
I agree that this series has its moments and is definitely likable, I just wish it was a duology and some of the fluff was cut out. I guess I got distracted by the slow pace and angst and it kept me from enjoying it as much as I could have. But I did think it was a good audiobook!
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